


Uncharted: The Shadows

by Beklet



Series: Uncharted [1]
Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, Occult, Original Fiction, Spoilers for Uncharted (Video Games), badass OC
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-01-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:01:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 23,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22330753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beklet/pseuds/Beklet
Summary: Many years prior to the adventure of discovering Libertalia, Caeli and Sam had only just been orchestrated into meeting by the one contact they had in common. Victor Sullivan.Being forced to take jobs by Samuel Drake's side, Caeli tries to keep her past a secret, but as they get closer and he still seems to disregard her knowledge on most dangerous situations it gets closer to being spilt. Not wanting to use her training as an assassin to make him listen proves to be a challenge, and it soon seems like the only option she has to make him do so.After picking up Incan artefacts, and one in particular that wasn't supposed to be taken, they are put onto the path of finding Paititi, the Lost City of Gold. With distractions and danger at every turn, and leads to another lost city being tossed at them as the investigate, things become quite messy quite quickly, and the skills Caeli was raised with have to come into play.An assassin and a pickpocket seem like an unlikely duo, but as they become closer it becomes obvious that they were almost meant to be together...If they can survive long enough.||prequel to Uncharted: Assassin's Heart||||A Sam Drake fan-fic||
Relationships: Original Character - Relationship, Samuel Drake/Original Character(s), Samuel Drake/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Uncharted [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1584838
Kudos: 2





	1. The Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Caeli Porter and Victor Sullivan first meet...

The stories of how Caeli Porter and Victor Sullivan met are vastly different depending on which is telling you of the story. However, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Between the stories of a young girl saving a seasoned treasure hunter from sure death and the complete reversal of that situation, there is a meeting which involved a lot of gunfire, a small but notable treasure and a distrust between the man and the girl.

Although that distrust didn't last long.

The girl had barely been thirteen at the time, living alone in America after being abandoned by her parents. They claimed it was for her safety, but later in her life, she found it was a much more distressing reason than that.

Stealing treasure and selling it on the black market was how she had survived, and it usually got her into trouble. She kept a knife with her at all times, and with her training and natural agility it kept her alive. That night she had been in the process of stealing a necklace owned by Queen Elizabeth which was being shown in a museum in Canada. She hadn't been able to leave the continent yet due to her age, but slipping through the border of America and Canada had been far too easy for her to do.

"Shit..." she swore as she saw that a man had already grabbed the necklace, walking out of the room. She followed him carefully, not making a sound... the man slipped out of the museum without tripping any alarms, and she continued to follow him as he walked down the street calmly.

He was met a few streets down by a crime boss, maybe his client... and a handful of thugs that would use force to take the necklace from him.

"Payment, payment comes first." The man told the boss, who then laughed in his face.

"No, you'll give it to me or you'll end up a dead man."

"We agreed-"

"I changed my mind. Give me the necklace and we'll let you walk away. Resist and you'll get shot." The man shook his head in response.

 _Don't be a moron, hand them the necklace._ The girl thought because that way she could swipe it off the crime boss later.

"Payment, I need the money, just like how you need this necklace. Let's just be good businessmen, alright? You made a deal, don't be a coward and stick to it." The man stated, obviously not paying attention to the extra men that walked out from the shadows.

"Sullivan, I won't hesitate to shoot you." The girl counted the number of men that surrounded this 'Sullivan'. Fifteen. There were fifteen of them and this man was as calm as if he were surrounded by friends.

"So you won't pay me?" Sullivan checked, then looking at his surroundings. "Alright, here goes nothing then." The man took a gun out of his pocket and shot the boss between the eyes before ducking and dodging an onslaught of bullets coming towards him.

 _Serves the idiot right_. She thought to herself, going to walk away... but if she did then that necklace would be long gone. She needed that necklace to pay for food, for her to afford to move to the next town.

She grunted as she grabbed her knife and ran after the man who had those fifteen men following him. She jumped onto the back of the one furthest behind, easily slitting their throat before she threw the knife into the skull of another, killing them instantly. She moved quickly to pull the knife back out and kill another man. Twelve left.

Sullivan shot another two as he ran.

Ten.

She jumped onto another man's back and forced the blade through his temple, after he fell she grabbed his handgun and shot two more men, at the sound of more gunshots from behind the remaining seven turned to look back at her. Two more fell from her shots leaving only five. They all turned their attention back to Sullivan as he still had the necklace, they had essentially circled and trapped him, he had no chance of getting out...

With one bullet she killed two more men and quickly killed the others. Sullivan looked to her with furrowed brows before raising his gun and shooting in her direction, she ducked and heard a thump of a body behind her. A sixteenth man that she had never seen.

Grateful for the save she still turned back to Sullivan with her gun pointed directly between his eyes.

"The necklace, I need it." She stated simply, she never really heard how strong her British accent was until she was surrounded by people who sounded different to her. These men were no exception.

"Kid, don't be ridiculous this necklace-"

"Belonged to Queen Elizabeth and it will fetch a pretty good price on the black market, I need the money." She told him, cutting him off before he could even try and talk the piece of jewellery down.

"What do you need the money for? Do you need food, somewhere to stay?" He asked her, she stayed silent on the matter.

"Give me the necklace or I will shoot you." She told him, he looked down the alleyway at the heap of bodies.

"Look, kid, I know you'll shoot me, but how about we end the killing for tonight. The cops will be here soon, no doubt with all the shooting, let's get somewhere safe and talk over this." He told her, he put his gun on the ground and held his hands up as he spoke. She could hear the faint echo of sirens in the distance... he was right.

"I need to grab something quickly, follow me or I will kill you." She told him next, he nodded.

"Can I bring my gun? Don't want to leave fingerprints behind..." he trailed off, she could respect his wishes for the most part.

"Step away from the gun and I will take it for you." She retaliated, he complied and stepped away. She ran over to him and picked it up, then running through some alleyways and making sure he followed her.

Once they were in the right place she reached under a dumpster, pulling out a hiking bag filled with everything she needed to survive, a sleeping bag attached to it.

"Lead the way." She told the man who looked at her in pity before she held the gun up to the light again. It kicked him back into gear and he ran off, she was close behind.

They went into a bar, a dirty and dark one, he sat on a stool at the bar and gestured for her to do the same. She put her bag on the ground and moved to sit when he spoke.

"Leave the guns down there too." She didn't think the request was unreasonable and so she did just that, leaving them underneath her bag. He didn't need to know about the extra knife she had tucked into her worn boots.

"What's your deal, kid? You a runaway? An orphan?" He asked her, she didn't answer and instead of pressing more questions he ordered some food. Wedges. When he got them he pushed the plate to her, she eyed them carefully, not wanting to eat them in case it meant that he thought she trusted him.

"If you won't eat them, I will," Sullivan stated, at that, she quickly grabbed one of the wedges and started eating, she was far too hungry to pass them up. "What's your name kid?" She ignored the question and ate the wedges in silence. "What do you need the necklace for?"

"I don't even know who you are, why would I answer your questions?" She asked him, he smiled and nodded his head.

"Victor Sullivan." He held out his hand to her, she shook it slowly.

"You steal things for a living?" She asked him.

"A client wants something, I get it for them at a price, have to pay for beer somehow." Sullivan stated simply, holding up his bottle of beer as if to prove a point.

"That other man wanted the necklace?"

"Yes he did, the thing is if customers don't pay they don't get what they want."

"If I didn't save your ass, you would've died tonight." She told him bluntly, he grunted and turned to look at his beer.

"Thanks for that reminder, sometimes I don't know when to let go of something, but I also need the money kid. I got debts to pay off." Sullivan told her, she eyed him carefully.

"You seem like that kind of man, but I also need the money to survive." She told him, eating more wedges.

"You live out of that bag, kid?"

"So what if I do?"

"You shouldn't have to live like that, you should have a home, a family-"

"I've never had either, and I won't be telling you my story tonight if that's what you're thinking." She told him, he held his hands up in mock surrender.

"I'm just wondering if you have somewhere to sleep, it's not safe for a kid to live on the str-"

"I can take care of myself."

"You've proven that, but the weather's getting colder too. It'll be snowing soon, that sleeping bag will get wet and cold..."

"Why do you care? And what are you going to do? I'm a random kid off the street, you're feeding me food and you killed that other man who was probably going to shoot me, what for?" She asked him, he shook his head.

"I think you probably could have shot that man by yourself, but I could ask you why you saved me too-"

"Easiest way to get the necklace." She cut him off, answering that question for him.

"Gee, thanks." Sullivan stated sarcastically. "Look, I just want to help you out a little. We split the profit on the necklace half and half, I'll get a hotel room for you, I'll buy you food and water and whatever else you need."

"What do you want from me? There's no way you're doing this for free." She responded, he looked at her as if he knew what she was thinking he wanted from her.

"Oh god kid, I'm not like that. I'm not into that at all. I just think that with some extra training, practice, you could be pretty good at this. I could use some help with my next job too, if you want to make some more money." He told her, he spoke truth so she guessed she could trust him. For now.

"Okay..." she said, barely above a whisper.

"Alright, you can finish eating and then we'll find somewhere to spend the night, I just want to know one more thing... What's your name, kid?" He asked her, she blinked a few times at the question.

She never really had a name at the Order, she was 'One', the first kid born for the Order to experiment on. She was never named, but she had always known a basic name she would like to use if she ended up needing one after being left in America.

"My name..." she trailed off, she could tell this man the truth and he would push her for more answers or she could just lie and give him that name she liked. The latter option meant less questions, so she figured that would be best.

"My name is Caeli Porter."


	2. Part I: The Beginning

In which we first meet and learn about our two protagonists...


	3. The Music Box

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Caeli Porter and Samuel Drake first meet...

The guards didn’t seem well trained, at least not well enough to stand their ground against him. He made sure to keep quiet, to use stealth against their numbers. If one got away they would alert the others and his whole heist would be ruined.

He needed the money too much to let that happen.

He had a rough idea of what he was looking for, but had a good idea of where he was going. He figured that if worst comes to worst he would take whatever was close to the description that Sullivan gave him and sell all of it. Seemed like a win-win situation to him.

Eventually, he made it to the right room and began looking in the glass cabinets, searching for the golden music box. There was one thing that felt odd about the whole situation to him, that Sullivan had trusted him to do this by himself, it was no secret the two disliked each other...

There it was.

He looked at it for a few seconds, just to make sure it was the right piece before looking at the lock. He would have to pick it. The artefact didn’t seem to be much, like it would be worth anything more than it’s weight in gold, but he knew who it had belonged to. Anything that was related to the Romanoff's was worth more than imagined.

He was just about to start picking the lock when a voice cut through the sound of the rain on the roof.

“Step away from the artefact.” Female. British?

"Can't do that, sorry." He stated as he turned around to face her. She had grey eyes, bleach blonde hair with dark brown regrowth pulled back in a ponytail. Her ears were covered in piercings... she was kind of attractive if he was honest.

"And why might that be?" She asked, that was when he noticed the handgun. That was what he probably should have looked at first...

"I need to make some money here-" He went to speak but was cut off.

"What's your name?"

"Samuel?" He stated although he was kind of questioning what his own name was, why she was even asking in the first place.

"Who sent you?" She asked next, taking a few more steps towards him, her eyes darted to the music box before looking back to him. They were both here for the same object... odd.

"Not important." He responded, not feeling too alarmed by the weapon that she had aimed between his eyes.

"Move." She repeated, but he shook his head. "Move or I will make you move." He had to stop himself from laughing, she was small... she couldn’t take him down. Instead he stood still, his hands in his pockets before he moved suddenly, pulling his gun out and aiming it towards her ready to shoot.

But she was moving fast, ducking underneath his arm, disarming him and knocking him to the ground in a matter of seconds. He didn’t even get time to pull the trigger.

She had him pinned on the ground, a knee on his chest, the other on his right arm while she held his left. Her forearm was weighing down against his throat... but her face was hovering just slightly above his.

Was he turned on right now?

"Why couldn't you just move?" She asked, sounding tired, he smirked.

"If I had, we wouldn't be like this, would we?" He questioned, she rolled her eyes but he felt like he had a valid point.

"You're lucky I didn't kill you." She whispered, she was staring into his eyes. It gave him a moment to appreciate how unsettling the colour of her irises were.

"Give it time." He replied, realising her eyes were more silver than grey. Even the pure metal couldn’t do the colour justice.

"You're a bit overconfident if you think I'm gonna stick around you at all, to even get the opportunity to kill you again." She told him, taking her forearm away from his throat and putting the safety back on the handgun which she hadn’t let go of yet before holstering it. "One wrong move and I will kill you with my bare hands." She warned him, he believed her.

"Fair enough." He replied as she stood up and took another look at the trinket he was meant to be stealing. He kept still, not moving from his position on the floor as he watched her begin picking the lock to the cabinet.

"What the hell are you doing?" She asked, he shrugged his shoulders but she didn’t seem to notice the movement.

"You said no wrong moves,” he answered, adding humour in his tone, he slowly sat up as she shook her head. He watched as she used the sleeve of her denim jacket to clear her fingerprints from the glass and began walking out. "Where are you going?" He asked, the British girl turned back to look at him, holding her hands out at her sides.

"Well, I'm not staying here for a guard to find me. It's probably a good idea for you to leave too." She told him, tucking the artefact into her pocket. He was about to say something but stopped himself when he saw a guard in the doorway, that the girl turned and walked into. "Hi," she stated sweetly before punching the guard in the throat. Samuel watched as she twisted around the guard and somehow took him down in a couple of seconds.

She didn’t move the unconscious guard, he watched as she took off down the hallway. He figured his best chance of getting out was to follow her, so he did. She seemed to be able to take people down quickly, efficiently, so that would be useful. She lead them out without too much trouble, only meeting a handful of guards on their way out. She was about to run away when he grabbed onto her wrist, he couldn’t let her go with the trinket.

"Don't fucking touch me." She turned to look at him, a killer look in her pale grey eyes, her voice far too dark for a teenage girl.

"I need that bloody, musical, fucking thing." He told her, the urgency he felt didn’t seem to be making it’s way to her.

"I've already taken you down once tonight, I don't think you need me to do it again to prove a point." She hissed through her teeth, she was pissed off, he could tell. He dropped her wrist, his hands in the air.

"Fine, fine. Just, I need that fucking trinket. My brother and I-"

"Who sent you after this?" She asked, holding the artefact in the air, he didn't respond. He may hate Sullivan but he wasn’t a snitch. "This isn't something a conventional thief would go after, few know what this is worth at auction. I'll ask you one last time, who sent you after this?" There was a moment of silence before he groaned in response.

"Victor Sullivan, I fucking hate the basta-"

"You're that kid's brother, aren't you?" She cut him off, that lead him to a bit of confusion. Did she know Sullivan?

"Kid? You mean Nate, right?"

"If that's the Drake kid that Sully met in Cartegena, yes, I've met the boy once." She ran a hand through her hair, seeming to realise something that he didn’t. "He set this up, set us up to meet." She whispered, it was just loud enough for him to hear. But it didn’t make sense.

"What?"

"Sullivan set us up, I'm going to kill him when I see him next." She stated, throwing the artefact to Sam, which he luckily caught. There was a moment of silence between them as she watched him carefully. He would kill to know what she was thinking in that moment.

"Can I know what your name is?" He asked her, not knowing what else to say and wanting to know the answer.

"Why should I tell you that?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow at him.

"You know mine." He replied, looking at the sky before looking back at her. He felt that was a good enough reason. "Plus, I think you're kind of cute." He added; as he spoke she tucked a few loose hairs behind her heavily pierced ears. She didn’t seem to like that extra comment. Why couldn’t he keep his bloody mouth shut?

"My name is Caeli Porter, it's not necessarily nice to meet you." She told him. Well there goes that.

"I've worked with worse before..." He trailed off, even though he truly hadn’t. Every girl he met seemed to like him straight away... except for those who weren’t into guys, which he respected.

"You're not working with anything, so don't get any ideas." She stated as she began walking down the street, away from him.

"Too late, Caels." He stated from behind her as he began to follow her, thinking a nickname might get her to warm up to him.

"Call me 'Caels' again and I'll shoot you in the balls." He was wrong. Samuel caught up to her just as she finished her sentence, they looked into each other's eyes for a moment, she had a fairly strong glare on her face and it brought a smirk to his face as he knew exactly how to annoy her.

"Feisty."


	4. The Pool

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Caeli doesn't hold back her anger...

“Sullivan!” Caeli shouted, immediately showing the anger she was feeling about the entire situation at hand. She could barely believe that he had pulled a stunt like this with her and she was more than ready to let him know it.

“Didn’t expect you back so soon...” the older man trailed off, already sensing the anger coming from her in waves. Caeli almost pulled Sam through the doorway and pushed him into the room. “So, you two know each other now?”

“What the fuck, Sullivan!” She shouted without holding back, not caring that the younger Drake brother was in the room with them, obviously waiting for his brother's return.

“I thought that you two should meet and-"

“You could’ve just introduced us!” Caeli shouted next. “Because of this absolute moron, we almost got caught.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad, Caeli-"

“Oh, it was.” Samuel responded, winking at his brother who smiled back at him.

“Caeli, your speciality is getting out of sticky situations, something Sam severely lacks in-"

“Hey!” Sam shouted to cut Sullivan. “That seems like it’s supposed to be an insult so I am going to act offended by that comment.” Caeli rolled her eyes and looked at Sullivan, as if trying to prove her point could be any easier.

“Point is here, that I think you would make a great team. Sam has a great knowledge of history-"

“So do I,” Caeli interjected.

“Caeli has superior fighting skills-"

“Won’t argue with that...” Sam trailed off.

“Together you would make a good team. You’re very alike in many ways but different in others, just trust me.” Sullivan tried to argue, but Caeli didn’t care what the man thought. Not this time, at least.

“Blindside me like that again, Sullivan, and we’ll have very big problems.” Caeli essentially finished the conversation and she walked out of the room, needing to let off some steam and get some air. The audacity of that man...

She punched a wall to the dingy hotel they were staying in... How did she not think that he would do something like this? She knew Drake had an older brother and she knew that Sullivan had been trying to get her to start dating, having casual relationships, any kind of human interaction with someone other than him. She knew he was trying to help her but it didn’t change her anger on the subject.

She was her own person who could live her own life without control from someone else.

She looked down the hallway each way before walking away slowly from the hole in the wall. There were no cameras, so no one would know it was her.

Her body was still hot with rage, she had to cool down... There was a dodgy pool at this hotel? Right?

She walked outside and found the small pool, it seemed clean enough so she jumped in fully clothed, she could worry about the chlorine in her clothes later.

She stood in the cold water, the pool wasn’t very deep, allowing it to take the heat from her body and calm her mind. This was how she always calmed herself, she had always loved water... Except for the ocean. She had to be able to see the bottom, and the water had to be still in order for her to enjoy it. Pools, baths... That was about it. If the water had a life of it’s own, it became one of the few things she feared.

“Need to cool off? Literally?” It was the older Drake who spoke, obviously having followed her to the pool.

“It’s the only way to calm myself down, to physically cool my body.” She explained although she was unsure as to why she did. He didn’t need one, didn’t deserve one.

“And the hole in the wall was you too, I take it,” Samuel responded, she didn’t reply as he sat at the edge of the pool, pulling his pants up to let his feet and calves hang in the water. “I think Sullivan meant well-”

“I don’t care if he meant well, he knows my past and why I hate being manipulated into situations, being set up like that and not having control. He knows and he still did it anyway. That’s what I’m angry about.” She told him.

“What could have happened to you? It’s can’t be that bad-”

“You have no idea of what I have been through, and if you were smart you would realise it’s really none of your business. You aren’t helping my anger right now.” Caeli stated, looking at him with a glare so harsh it may have actually killed a part of his soul.

“Alright, I’m sorry. I don’t know you, I shouldn’t make assumptions.” He said, his hands up like he was being arrested. He felt like he was being attacked, but he guessed he was. Caeli sighed, her hands playing with the surface of the water as she took her eyes away from him. She was calming down, slowly.

Slowly.

She ducked her head under the water, only for a moment in order to cool her face. When she rose above the water’s surface again she already let better, but she had been under for long enough that Sam had moved from the edge of the pool, judging from the splash in the water to her left she assumed he had just jumped in.

“You couldn’t just give me my space, could you?” She asked once he resurfaced, his hair dripping water after he shook his head. Whether the movement was in response to her question or an attempt to get rid of the water in his hair, she didn’t know.

“The water felt nice so I thought I should jump in as well.” He told her, leading her to believe that he shook his head to get rid of the water. She sighed, closing her eyes. “What are you doing?”

“Pretending you’re not here.”

“Well that’s rude…” He trailed off, he stayed silent as her eyes stayed closed. “I think we got off on the wrong foot.”

“How so?” She asked, keeping her eyes closed.

“Well, we met with you pointing a gun to my face so… historically, not the right foot.” He told her, she opened her eyes at his words. He had a point.

“I’m sorry about that, force of habit when I’m facing a competitor I guess.” She told him, he shrugged his shoulders.

“I forgive you, I mean, I tried to shoot you too so there is that.” He held his hand out towards her. “My name is Samuel Drake, I am the older brother to one annoying kid who is called Nathan, I work as a thief, treasure hunter, self-taught historian, and my favourite food is ice cream.” She was confused for a second until she realised, he was trying for a fresh start. A sigh left her lips before she shook his hand in the water, still not thinking it was very conventional.

“My name is Caeli Porter, to my knowledge I am an only child, I am a mercenary, thief, treasure hunter, self-taught historian, whatever pays well and my favourite food is also ice cream, even though I’m lactose intolerant and shouldn’t eat it.” She introduced herself.

“Splendid to meet you.” Sam said, trying to mock her British accent.

“I think you’re starting to push it a bit.” She replied, letting go of his hand. His skin was softer than she thought it would be... Or the water was distracting her.

“Lactose intolerant, huh?”

“Yeah, but I deal with the consequences of eating ice cream.”

“You get gassy?” Sam asked and she lost all humour of the situation.

“Could you have said that in a less flattering tone?”

“Well it wasn’t a very flattering question, what did you think would happen?”

“Okay. I’m going to get out of this damned pool now.” Caeli stated, heading towards the ladder.

“Was that a good fresh start or not?” Sam asked as she got out, she turned to face him with her wet clothes clinging against her skin. He looked her up and down, she sighed in annoyance.

“Going to be honest, it’s fairly average.”

“You know what, I think I got that feeling too.”

***

“Sullivan...” Caeli trailed off, her tone almost in warning.

“It’s the best way to get this treasure, you know that.” Sully replied, looking to Sam who was also in the room. They were all standing around a desk which had a map of a low-level museum which was holding an Incan display, a few golden items we’re in cases and seemingly easy to steal.   
They just had to scope it out before they would go in after closing and take a few small items.

“I work best alone, in case you’ve forgotten, Sullivan.” She told him, trying to avoid having to work with the Drake brother.

“You have only ever worked by yourself or with me, maybe you two will make a good team. Won’t know unless you try.” The older man stated simply, she sighed and shook her head. She wouldn’t be able to change his mind.

“Once, just this once.” She responded, looking Sam in the eyes. “But I swear to God, if you screw this up, we are never working together again.” He held his hands up.

“Fine, but I won’t.” He told her, she shook her head

“Let’s go.” She whispered, walking out if the room and beginning the descent down to the street from their hotel room. Sam was right behind her.

“So, any ideas on how to get this done?” He asked her as they began the walk to the museum.

“Won’t know until I see the place for myself, but as long as you do what I tell you, we should be fine.” She told him, he shook his head.

“I’ve been doing this for a while, I know what to do, I don’t need to be told what to do, least of all by you. Maybe you could listen to me.” Sam told her, she laughed at his words. Actually laughed. She couldn’t stop herself. “What’s so bloody funny?”

“You-“ She had to pause to stop herself from laughing and breathe, “you think you’re better than me. Genuinely, you do, and that is one if the funniest things I’ve ever fucking heard.” She knew she swore a lot, she figured she’d grow out of it, but for now it was almost habit.

“How so? I’m pretty good at this, and it’s not like I’ve seen amazing stuff from you. You were the one who got caught by a guard first, in case you’ve forgotten. You literally walked into him.”

“You left the ones you knocked out in plain sight, it’s a bloody miracle that an alarm wasn’t raised at all.” She retaliated, realising she was becoming a bit too defensive about the situation. “Tell you what, let’s make this a little more fun.”

“Sure, how?”

“Let’s see, the first one to get caught has to...” Caeli thought for a moment on it. “...be the one to argue with Sullivan about this stupid pairing and convince him it will never work.”

“What if neither of us get caught?”

“If that unlikely miracle happens, it will be because I kept us out of trouble, and it will be a draw. If we’re successful then Sullivan will make us work together again, in which case we can change the bet, you’ll be able to choose punishment or benefits then.” She told him, he nodded slowly. He had no idea how hard it would be to convince Sullivan that they wouldn’t work...

And if all went according to plan, this heist would go horribly and Sam would be the one to lose the bet. It would all go so badly that it will be proven that they can’t work together, and Sullivan will be forced to give up on this stupid idea.

At least that was the plan.

They walked into the museum, and immediately she was on edge. Something was off, she could feel it.


	5. The Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Caeli and Sam work together to steal some artefacts from another museum...

"Shit." She whispered as she looked through the entrance hall, there were more security guards than expected.

They knew of the break into the other museum a couple of nights before, they had increased their security. She guessed there was one positive, the other museum's guards hadn't wanted to be embarrassed by the fact they were bested by teens... Their identities were safe as they relied on the pride of middle-aged men, there was no stronger foundation than that.

"Two tickets please," Sam spoke to the girl at the front desk, where Caeli saw a spread of pamphlets, information booklets and books intended to be bought.

"For you and your girlfriend?" The girl asked and Caeli scoffed at the assumption.

"No, that's my cousin..." Sam stated, leaning his elbows onto the table to get closer to the girl. They were possibly the same age, the girl was working here as a part-time job, probably in conjunction with studying. Caeli assumed the girl was a history student. Sam kept talking to the girl in a quiet voice... He was chatting her up, at least that's what she guessed when the girl let out a giggle. She knew that form of a giggle.

"Come on, cousin, we're on a time frame and I know how much you want to see the Incan statues with their naked tits," Caeli stated, using her American accent since she was supposedly family to him. Her words made the girls eyes widen and Sam immediately snapped his head to look at her, his eyes wide and his anger clear. Or maybe embarrassment.

She wasn't sure.

"That is not what I'm here for." He said a bit too quickly.

"Um, here are your tickets..." The girl stated, handing the tickets to him. He turned to look back at the girl and smiled, Caeli knew he was going to try and recover.

"What can I say? I'm a boobs man." He shrugged as he spoke, and the girl's disgusted look spoke volumes. Sensing that he was being rejected he walked to Caeli and gave her a ticket, walking into the first room past the guards.

"Did you really have to do that?" He asked her, she smiled sweetly as she looked at the pamphlet she had grabbed from the table while Sam had failed to recover his dignity in front of that girl.

"Yes, yes I did." She replied, still holding her American accent as she spoke in case the guards were paying any kind of attention... Judging from the bored and blank looks on their faces she assumed they weren't.

"I could have gotten a date, she seemed to like me."

"Oh honey, sometimes girls just have to act like that when a guy cracks onto them at work so they'll be left alone. Unfortunately, it's how the world works." Caeli told him, she knew she was right from the giggle the girl gave, she had heard it before, she'd had to use it before. It was hollow and an attempt to get the man to move on. It rarely worked.

"What? No, she..." He trailed off as she started walking through the rooms to get to the Incan exhibit.

"How often do you chat up girls who are working?" Caeli asked next, he seemed to get a bit confused by the question.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Curious, it's just... Women don't want to be hit on while they're working, it's awkward and uncomfortable and if they reject the man it can get verbally abusive very fast. You can be nice, but if you respect women you shouldn't hit on them at work unless they flirt with you first. Did she flirt with you?"

"I mean, she smiled and asked me how my day was..."

"Don't ever mistake niceties and politeness for flirting, you're making me bloody well question if you're actually a decent human being at the moment." She told him as they reached the exhibit, her eyes locking onto the guards in turn as she counted them.

"I'm a good person and I respect women very much."

"Good for you, but it's not your view that matters on the subject. The women you talk to decide if you respect them or not, and it's the people you interact with that decide if you're a good person. So, unless that is feedback from other people you just talked about, I might need a bit more time to see if I'll believe it." She told him, beginning to walk around the exhibit as he walked close to her.

He was strangely quiet. She might have given him a bit to think about.   
She looked carefully at the pieces they planned on stealing, checking for any sensors or other security measures. Aside from the locks on the case and the guards, there were none.

This would be fairly easy for them.

"These locks can be easily picked." She whispered to him, he nodded in response.

"Don't need a key made then?"

"No, these won't take long for me to do." She told him, she heard a jingle of keys before looking to the source of the sound. They were in a corner out of view of guards, for the number they had they weren't well placed. The keys were unfamiliar to her as she looked at them in Sam's hand.

"We won't need these then?"

"When did you..." She trailed off, realising that his quietness must have been because he had gone to steal the keys. "You're a pickpocket then?"

"A bloody good one."

"Hmm, well, I suppose the actual keys would be useful..." She trailed off, nodding slowly. He put them back into his pocket, they would take them and return them later. Maybe.

"Alright, let's take a look around the rest of the museum and then head back. We have a plan to make."

***

She had made Sam dress in all black, in hopes it would help his stealth, she wore all black as well so he didn't feel singled out. They both agreed no guns was the best option, they would be too loud and if it came to needing them then they could take some from the guards.

They each had a black backpack on them as they stood by a window, waiting for the guards to walk past before they would sneak in. The keys had already proven to be useful, the entry to the roof had been locked, but the keys had the means to unlock it.

They had both climbed around the buildings small ledges and uneven brick to get as close to the right room as possible, always looking through windows to see where the guards were and how many were present. As soon as their entry point was clear they entered and stalked to the Incan exhibit.

Sam unlocked the cabinets and Caeli grabbed the items, most were small but there was a larger item that seemed to be important to her... It wasn't on their list of artefacts to steal but for some reason, she knew she needed to take it, and so it was put into her bag as well. They made sure their fingerprints were wiped from all surfaces and Sam placed the keys on the floor under a cabinet, as if they had simply been dropped.

"That thing wasn't something we're supposed to take." Sam pointed out as they walked back to the window, overly cautious of how quiet the Museum was.

"Shut up and get out the window." She whispered back, he followed her instruction and they began the climb back to the roof and then to the locked ladder that had brought them up.

It all seemed to go smoothly until they met a guard on the roof. Caeli hid in time but Sam was spotted, a torch on his form as the guard began to speak.

"What the... Hey, what are you doing up here?"

"Just looking at the view, it's pretty nice up here..." Sam responded and she smirked. He was the first to get caught, and he would have to find a way out of it himself.

"What's in the bag?"

"Oh, nothing, just a lunchbox, drink bottle..."

She heard the sound of safety being switched off of a gun, the weapon then clicking as the guard primed it.   
"Put the bag on the ground and get on your knees, hands behind your head."

Shit. She would have to be the one to save him. Jail wasn't an option, at least not in any situation that involved her. She began walking along the air conditioning units that were providing her cover, trying to get a visual on the situation.

The guard had a gun pointed to Sam as he put the bag down on the ground and slowly moved to be down next to it. She had to get to the guard before he alerted anyone else.

She kept moving silently along the units before she reached the end and moved slowly beyond them. She was, at worst, in the guards' peripheral vision, but if she moved correctly she wouldn't be spotted. She always moved correctly.

She rounded behind the guard as Sam saw her, he lowered his eyes to the ground in front of him as the guard moved to get his radio. She ran silently towards him and jumped onto his back, an arm locked around his throat to make him lose consciousness. The man fought back, seemingly forgetting about the radio he had on him and dropped the gun to try and get her off of him.

"Just sleep already." She told him, the shock that the person attacking him was a girl was enough to make him stop trying to get her off for a moment. A moment that she used to strengthen her grip as the man finally lost consciousness.

He fell down quickly, Caeli pulled away from his body as Sam picked up his bag.

"Run, it won't be long before they realise they're a man down." She told him, they reached the ladder and made it down to the street before the alarm was raised. They were long gone when it finally was.

"You going to tell me why you grabbed that bloody thing?" Sam asked as they ran back to the hotel, they would be climbing in through the window so they didn't bother changing.

"I felt like it." She told him bluntly.

"It's too big to go unnoticed, the whole point of grabbing small stuff was to hope that they wouldn't notice for a while."

"Yeah well, you were the one who was caught by a guard and almost blew the entire heist so there's that. We both screwed up. Now we're even." She told him, keeping an ear out for sirens. "Besides, you're just upset that you lost the bet. Now, you have to try and convince Sully that we don't work well together and never will."

"You know, he's just going to see this as a success, plus you saved me so he'll think of that as teamwork," Sam told her, she groaned.

"I know." She snapped, annoyed at how it looked. It had gone well, very well, but there had been plenty of opportunities for it to go badly. It took a lot of glaring to make him listen to her on multiple occasions, he had almost gone in through the window while guards were still in the hallway because of it.

If for some bloody reason they continued to work together he would have to learn to listen to her, after all, she was the one who had never been caught. From what she knew he had been in jail multiple times.

She would make him listen.

He wouldn't have a choice.


	6. Toxic Masculinity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Caeli gives Samuel a valuable and unwanted lesson about feminism...

"Caeli, Sullivan told me to..." Sam trailed off as he walked into her at the desk in her hotel room, paper spread everywhere as next to a book on Incan history.

"Told you to what?" She asked, her cell phone also on the desk. She'd been making some calls for one of the things that she had been investigating, she had found out some interesting stuff, especially when she had gone to a nearby internet café for further research.

"Tell you the pizzas are on the way." He told her, he walked over to her, she didn't move to cover any of her notes. She didn't feel the need to, she wasn't the one who was lying about who she was. "What is this?" He asked, she turned in her chair to look him in the eyes.

"Research on Incan history and I guess on yours too." She answered, looking at his shocked expression.

"How did you..."

"Called some contacts, the internet is also bloody useful let me tell you. You know, Nathan and Samuel Drake turned up for the first time a few months after two brothers called Nathan and Samuel _Morgan_ disappeared. Wouldn't happen to be a connection there, would there?" She asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Samuel replied, Caeli smiled and laughed.

"I don't care that you're lying about who you are, I'm sure there's a good reason behind it." She responded, standing up from her chair and placing a hand on his shoulder. "If you ever need someone to talk to about it... please don't come to me. I don't have the patience for sappy background stories." She said with another laugh.

"Great, thanks." He said, a small frown on his face.

"I was joking..." She trailed off. "Mostly joking." She corrected herself, taking her hand away from his shoulder. "Look, if you get some alcohol in me I'm a great listener, I'm really skipping over the point I'm trying to make here... I understand why you're trying to keep your identity a secret, why you're careful with trusting people. Of all the people on the planet I would understand the most, okay? I just... having a few close people that you do trust gives you a safety net, it's a strength to have true allies in this line of work. You've been working with Sullivan for the better part of a year now, he's a good man and you don't give him enough credit or trust. He's a valuable player to have on your side, alright? Just keep that in mind." She told him, he rolled his eyes.

"I don't trust anyone aside from my brother, don't have any reason to trust anyone else-"

"Sully saved your brother in Cartegena, Katherine Marlowe's men would have killed your brother without hesitation because he stood in their way. If not for Sully, your brother wouldn't be here today, and I'm sure you can think of at least one time he's helped you out, whether t be saving your life or getting you out of prison which I hear you have a knack for getting into." Caeli stated, walking past him and sitting on her bed. "I don't want to have to work with you anymore than I have to, but since we stole all that stuff from that museum, the Music Box... I've realised something rather important."

"What might that be?"

"Sully and I can no longer do this by ourselves, what we aim to do will always involve more than the two of us. We need to be able to trust more people, to make an alliance of sorts." She told him. "You need the help too, judging from the amount of times you've been imprisoned, if for no other reason than to know that your brother is safe even when you can't be there. Surely that's one thing that plagues your mind, the question of his safety." She stated simply, he didn't disagree with her. "I have many skills that also make me a very important player in any game, it's something that you should think about at least." She added, he sighed before looking back to the table and looking over her other notes.

"What's the rest of this about?" He asked next, she stood up once more and walked over to the desk. The small statue was also on the piece of furniture, she had the feeling that it would be rather important.

"That statue." She answered, she picked up her notebook from the table and closed it. "Once I know I can trust you I might tell you more, but I'll leave you with one tantalising clue. It has something to do with Incan history, and it could be a massive find."

"And how will you know that you can trust me?" He asked her, she shook her head slowly.

"I don't know yet, but I will when it happens."

"So all of that speech about trusting people, and you don't want to trust me?"

"I've known you for about a week now, I think I'm allowed to have a bit of doubt. Besides, I wasn't talking about you trusting me, I was talking about you trusting Sully. Trust is a two way street, the same as respect, I have to do something that proves you can trust me the same way you have to do something for me. Trust and respect are both very important to me, so I'll warn you once. If you do gain my trust, respect or both and you do something to break it... you're going to regret ever knowing me." That wasn't exactly where she intended to go with the conversation but she guessed there was no turning back now.

"And now you're threatening me-"

"Warning you, there is a difference. Believe me, you'd know if I was threatening you, I wouldn't be as pleasant about it."

"That was pleasant-"

"For me, that was beyond pleasant." She responded, becoming annoyed. If she ever began to respect this idiotic teen then she might have to get a brain scan done, the fact she was even contemplating working with him in future was almost enough to get her checked for a tumour...

"What skills do you even have that I don't?" Sam asked next, she had to laugh to stop herself from hitting him. The audacity...

"How in the name of Hell did you go from agreeing that I had superior fighting skills after the music box to then being an absolute dickhead? Did you realise that maybe a girl is better than you? Did I hit you in the toxic masculinity that you apparently have? I don't know what changed, but I'm so very close to teaching you a lesson about what I can do, it can be a lot more painful than what I did to you that night, than what I did to all of those guards. You still don't know anything about me-"

"I know you're a feminist-"

"How the fuck is that a bad thing?!" She shouted, he seemed to be taken aback by her anger. She wasn't very good at keeping her emotions in check, at least not negative ones like anger. Her body was almost shaking from the pure rage in her bloodstream. "It's assholes like you that piss me off the most, you front as someone who supports women but as soon as your masculinity is challenged by one, you feel threatened by it and don't know how to react..." She trailed off as soon as she realised exactly what had happened. Why he had lashed out. "Wow, you really are one of them." She stated simply, shaking her head.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It was when I told you that your actions can make women feel uncomfortable. When I told you that girl probably didn't like you and just wanted you gone." She stated, she had to laugh again for lack of other response in her system. "I made you question everything, and then later that night I took care of that guard because you couldn't, it was like rubbing salt in the wound wasn't it? Well guess what, sunshine, you're pretty fucking easy to read, and I've got you figured out. You should know that I'm not going to slow down to make you feel better, I'm not going to ease up who I am to nurture your insane fragility. You aren't going anywhere anytime soon, I know that because Sullivan already has you in for our next plan. You need to figure out if you're going to continue being a bruised, hurting teenage boy or whether you'll get your shit together and realise that women can be just as strong and powerful as men. I'm the one in charge here, not Sullivan and certainly not you, you might want to think about why that is."

"I'm older than you-"

"No one gives a shit, Drake... or should I say _Morgan_?" She stood up and walked out of her own room, poking her head into Sully's room as she went past. "I'm going for a walk. If Sam's pissed off it's because of me, you can ask _him_ why that is." She said with a bitter-sweet smile on her face, before she began walking the streets of the new city they had landed in not twenty-four hours after the museum heist.

To think that she had even momentarily thought that the Drake brother was attractive, that he could have been the one she would let in behind her walls. What a stupid, idiotic thought. At least the idea was long gone, she could never fit into gender roles, she needed to be with someone who didn't want her to, who didn't feel threatened by her. Hell, even Sully was threatened by her at times... but she knew that was only when she became truly frightening, and not just from her questioning his actions or saving his life.

She guessed Sully had always been good in that way.

He had taught her to never sell herself short, hold herself back or change who she is to fit someone else's desires. The only times she changed was when she had to, if it was the easiest way to get closer to a certain artefact or treasure, and that only happened when she made the decision herself. That decision was never made for her. Another thing Sully had taught her, to never let anyone dictate her life for her... even though that was exactly what he had done when organising the clash with Sam.

She guessed that she would have picked Sam apart in a matter of seconds had she been introduced to him any other way.

She only walked around the block, just long enough for the cool air to calm her body down and allow her racing heart to settle. She processed the entire situation once more, deciding that she would be the bigger person and give Sam one more chance to be on her good side, if he apologised then he would already be one step closer.

She had a feeling that he wouldn't.

They were both as stubborn as each other.


	7. Apologies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which an owed apology is given...

She was packing her suitcase for the flight when there was a knock on her door. Unusual, people usually just barged into her room and began asking questions or telling her things. She moved quietly, a dagger in hand as she walked to the door, the weapon hidden behind her leg as she readied it for an attack.

She opened the door a crack, relaxing once she realised who it was. Annoyance began to rise through that calm.

"What do you want?" She asked bluntly, opening the door fully and not bothering to hide her dagger anymore.

"I... Why did you answer the door with a knife in hand?" Samuel Drake asked her, too distracted to answer her question.

"Because you knocked, no one ever knocks on my door." She told him.

"So it was suspicious?"

"Well... Yes." She answered simply. "Besides, it's not a knife, it's a Chinese ring dagger." She told him, spinning it around her finger before she put it down on the bed. "Back to my question, what do you want?"

"Well, essentially, Sullivan told me that if I don't smooth over the situation with you then I'm cut out of-"

"You want the money." She cut him off, he shrugged his agreement. "Go tell Sullivan you apologised or whatever, I'm not in the mood for bullshit apologies." She told him, turning her attention back to the clothes she was packing away carefully. She always packed her bags neatly and in an over-organised fashion, she didn't really know why.

"No, I... I wanted to apologise anyway." He stated, she scoffed.

"Like I would believe that." She replied, he then moved and sat down on the bed next to her suitcase, it meant that she had to look at him, or at least acknowledge his presence. She couldn't ignore him.

"No, you probably wouldn't. Thing is, in school, I was always a popular kid, with the girls especially, and I was used to that kind of attention. After Nate and I and got into this life I realised how little all of that meant, how much that popularity or way with the ladies didn't matter anymore." She felt like interrupting with some sort of quip about teenage girls not being ladies but couldn't be bothered. "I had always been the guy that everyone either wanted to be or wanted to be with, and I don't mean that in a cocky, arrogant way, it's just how it was."

"Sure it was." She whispered, he sighed as he realised he was trying to fight a losing battle. She didn't care about what school life was for him.

"So, after coming into this life I assumed it was the same, that everyone would love me, but... Alas, they don't." He told her.

"Could you get to the part where I care?" She asked him, raising an eyebrow. He grimaced.

"What I'm trying to say is that I'm still learning how the world works. I was raised in an orphanage after our mother died and our father abandoned us, I don't have the best kind of experience with the real world, especially not after I got kicked out of the orphanage. I... Yes, what you said was a shock. It made me question everything I've ever done, made me realise I've always kind of been a dick, but that's not how I saw myself and so I got defensive. I didn't need anyone telling me who I am... Or what to do. And no, it didn't help when you took down that guard when I couldn't. I hate being told what to do, and it's not just because you're a girl, it's because I hate authority, hence why I was kicked out of the orphanage. Look, what I'm trying to say is that I have seen the mistakes I've made and I don't want to continue making them in future, however, one thing I've noticed is that we are both stubborn as all Hell..."

"No shit, Sherlock." The comment made him laugh.

"I see how I hurt you, I see how my actions could have made a handful of people in my past uncomfortable, I see how my mindset is... Dated or broken or stupid or all of the above. My mother was an adventurer, archaeologist, historian... All-around badass, she would be disappointed in how I've been acting and that hurts me as well. I'm sorry, really and truly sorry, about my actions. I shouldn't have questioned your ability, or your ideas or gotten angry about you helping me. You're right, I don't know you, but I know what you are capable of and if you'll forgive me I would like to know you better, what you said last night about needing people to trust... You were right. But it's not an alliance you're looking for, it's friends." He stuck out his right hand towards her, he had a point. Friends. An alliance meant that there was something to gain and that it could be broken, friends meant that it was unconditional.

She sighed.

"You have to listen to me from here on out." She told him, he grimaced once more.

"I'll try my best, it'll be a work in progress." He told her, she rolled her eyes but clasped his hand in hers. The promise of change was good enough for her.

"If you do ever need someone to talk to... I will do my best to listen. Men have feelings too and it doesn't make you any less of a man to express those feelings, it makes you more of one in my opinion." She told him after they shook hands and he stood up from the bed.

"I will do my best to listen if you ever want someone to talk to as well. I hear it makes someone more attractive if they're in tune with their emotions..." He said with a smirk, she closed her eyes as she shook her head for a second.

"I think you may have just skipped the point on that." She responded.

"No, I think I found it." He replied, nodding his head as he walked to the door, he grabbed onto the door handle and looked back at her. "Good chat." He stated simply, she smiled.

"Good chat." She agreed, watching as he left the room. The duvet on the bed was now crumpled where he had sat down, she let it stay that way for a moment before she smoothed it out.

Maybe there was hope for him after all.

***

The job they took next was simple, so simple, in fact, that Caeli allowed her curiosity on Sam's leadership capabilities to be answered. He wasn't as bad as she had thought he would be, he made very reasonable decisions but lacked the ability to plan very well. With some help from her, the plan he did make was foolproof...

At least, that's what she had thought.

The plan involved all of them in some kind of way, they all had to be present for the plan to proceed smoothly and efficiently... And it had been.

Until one of Sullivan's bad debts came into play.

"We don't have anything-"

"We know about the museums, about the Music Box and the Incan artefacts, Sullivan. Where are they?" A man asked although she knew most of the people that Sully had a history, mostly bad, with she had never seen this man before. Actually, there was a faint feeling of recognition...

"I don't have them, and the money we got from them is gone too. I can't give you anything." Sullivan replied while Caeli reassessed the situation once more.

All four of them were restrained by one form or another. The three males we're tied with rope, she had very tight cuffs around her wrists. They knew who she was, that was the only explanation for it, especially since those cuffs we're chained to the floor as well. It would be hard to get out of, harder than the rope the boys were all tied with.

But she was resourceful, she would find a way out, that's what she does.

"No, you still have them, Sullivan, and you still owe us a fair chunk of money. Judging from how much all of those things are worth, if you gave it all to us we might call it even." The man told them again, she looked over to Sam and Nate. They were both still unconscious from the gas that was used in the room they had been lured to, there was never any treasure there... It had been an elaborate trap.

"Sully, what the hell did you do this time?" Caeli asked, still unsure of what was going on and why. Well, maybe a little less unsure on the what and more on the _why._

"I promised these guys I would get them some money if they would..." Sully trailed off, she just had to look at him for him to continue. "If they would give me some leads for a bigger treasure, that lead me to Cartegena and Marlowe and the Drakes, I may have forgotten about the owing of money."

"He said a 'fair chunk' of money, it wouldn't cost that much for a tip," Caeli said next, noticing that Sam and Nate were slowly waking up.

"Well, I may have racked up a tab... Not just for tips but also hard to get weapons, like your daggers, passports, paperwork-" as Sully listed what the man and Caeli realised why she recognised this man.

"All of it is through these people? And you _forgot_ to pay them?!" She shouted, Sully shrugged his shoulders in response. "Bullshit, Sullivan."

"Fine, I never had the money, I always lost it to-"

"Gambling, women, alcohol, cigars, yeah I know where your money goes," Caeli stated, having to keep herself calm.

"Hey, I pay for places for us to stay, fuel for the plane, for food and for people to keep quiet. I do the right thing with my money too." Sulky argued, she rolled her eyes.

"My hero." She started sarcastically, pulling against the chains and seeing how strong they were. They seemed to be strong, however, there was a weakness...

"How much does he owe you?" Caeli asked next, looking to the man that she now knew.

"Just shy of eight-hundred thousand..." The man answered and she sighed once more.

"You kidnapped and tied us up for less than a million dollars?" She asked next, a bored tone in her voice. "You can have the artefacts-"

"No, they can't-"

"So you do have them?"

"Oh, don't start, I am not in the mood," Caeli told them, eyeing the plate screens into the floor carefully. It was loose, if she pulled it hard enough it might give way, and since it was attached to her chains it would essentially free her. "They can have the artefacts, Sullivan, honestly. What's the price if we don't pay you the money?"

"One of you dies and _then_ we get the money." The man told her, so she looked to Sullivan with her hands raised.

"Can't argue with that." She said simply, then looking to the man. "Hey, quick question, I know I've seen your face before... I think it might have been on the news somewhere, maybe something to do with a human trafficking ring?"

"Caeli, what the hell, he-"

"How does he have these connections, Sully? To weapons, illegal passports, paperwork? It's all needed for human trafficking, and I know I've seen your face attached to those crimes. Tell me, is that true?" She asked, the man seemed shocked at her claim, but the point of fear in his eyes told her that her hunch was right. He knew who she was, and the people trying to find her would pay a good price to have her back, they may have pitched him the idea of this entire kidnapping. It made sense, to target those who already owe you money with the underlying addition of getting more.

"I'll take your silence as a 'yes' then, shall I? After all, we both know this whole over the top kidnapping wasn't about Sullivan owing you money at all, it's about selling me back to the people who have been hunting me for years. The Order. You know there's a reason they want me back right? Because of my skills and my training and who I am. For example, I am able to break out of any restraint, like so." She started before pulling hard against the chain and pulling the plate on the ground loose before using the lengthy chain attached to both of her wrists as a weapon.

The man went to fight her but soon had the chain around his neck, his face turning blue as he tried to suck in air but couldn't as she pulled the chain tighter and tighter around his windpipe. He eventually stopped breathing altogether, she found the keys for her cuffs in his pocket and freed herself fully before turning her attention to the others. She untied Sully first who then moved to untie Nate, so she went to Sam. Luckily, both of the Drakes were awake.

"That was pretty badass," Sam told her as she was untying his restraint.

"I know."


	8. Part II: The Statues

In which a golden statue holds the clue to something big enough to ruin a religion...


	9. Target Practice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which some last-minute training is given...

"Remind me why I have to do this again..." Sam asked, looking away from the target to Caeli's eyes.

"Because you're a terrible shot," Caeli answered bluntly, gesturing to the target that had two shots on it, surrounding the outline of a human head and shoulders. "You've taken twelve shots, hit the piece of paper twice and hit the actual target a grand total of zero times. You need to practice your shooting."

"I can shoot in a real-life situation, trust me," Sam told her, she looked back at the target and started laughing. A genuine laugh.

"That was the funniest fucking thing I think I've ever heard you say." She said, a large smile still present on her face.

"How is that funny?" Sam asked, seemingly annoyed at her amusement on the topic.

"Because you can't hit a stationary target without an enemy coming back towards you, you need to shoot that target with every bullet in a clip before we start this next hunt..." She trailed off, looking back at the target. "...I think it's going to take a while."

"From what you're saying I can only assume that this one is going to be dangerous."

"I assume that too, from what my guts been telling me about it I think we're going to be in some deep shit," Caeli told him.

"Your gut?" Sam asked and she smirked.

"It's very reliable as you will find out soon enough." She told him, pointing to the target. "Shoot, preferably at the human-looking silhouette."

"You're one to talk..." He trailed off, she sighed.

"Do you need me to prove that I can shoot the target while you can't?" Caeli asked, taking the handgun from his hands and putting in a new clip. "Watch closely, what will happen from here may confuse you." She shot the gun, emptying all twelve bullets into the target, but there was only one hole.

"You only hit it once, there's one hole," Sam stated with a laugh, but Caeli looked to him with a serious expression on her face.

"Try again." She told him, he looked at the target once more before he realised what had happened.

"That's not humanly possible..." He trailed off, looking back to the hole where all twelve of her bullets had gone through, right through the brain of the silhouette.

"It is, I don't expect that from you, but you should be able to clip the silhouette with all twelve of your shots for your own safety if nothing else." She told him, crossing her arms after placing the gun back down. Sam sighed, putting in a new clip before starting to shoot at the target again, he hit the target a couple of times.

"How much do I have to do this until I get it right?" He asked her after running out of bullets.

"Depends on how much you listen to me and actually focus on what you're doing." She told him, he nodded slowly.

"Alright, what have you got for me?" He asked, she smiled.

"First... why are you holding the gun with only one hand?" She asked him, he looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

"All of the movies-"

"Movies visualise a form of stylised violence where aesthetic is focused on more than reality. Holding the gun with one hand instead of two greatly decreases your chances of hitting your target, the backlash of the shot will throw off your accuracy and you'll miss. Holding with two hands gives you extra stability, you'll be more likely to hit the target," She explained, he looked confused.

"How am I supposed to hold this with two hands?" He asked, she shook her head.

"For the love of God, how dumb are you?" She asked rhetorically, stepping to be right next to him, the side of her body against his. "One hand here." She stated, grabbing his hand and shifting it to sit in the correct spot, she then grabbed his other hand and moved it to sit on the other side of the gun, moving his fingers to sit correctly to steady the gun. "The other one like that." She said quietly, both of her hands still against his.

She was too close to him.

She could feel him breathing on the back of her neck. But she didn't want to move away...

"That's how you hold a gun with two hands." She stated before stepping away from him. Why was her face warm?

"Are you... blushing?" Sam asked. _Shit._

"Is that what this is?" She asked, placing her hands against her cheeks.

"Do you like me?" Sam asked next, a smile on his face. She sighed.

"No, I don't." She responded truthfully, she didn't like him. She found him attractive, but he was a friend as they had grown to be over the past year of working together. "I just..." She didn't know what to say.

"That's the closest you've been to somebody without intending to kill them?" He asked next, she took a deep breath and nodded.

"For a while, yes."

"We need to get you laid." He stated simply.

"No, we don't. I'm not... I'm not into one night stands or quick romance. Hell, I'm not sure if I'm really wanting a relationship full stop. It takes a lot for me to want to be with someone romantically, it just hasn't happened yet." She told him, running a hand through her hair. She guessed she found Sam attractive because he fit the idea of an attractive person. She didn't want to be with him, she just knew he was a good human specimen.

"Are you asexu-"

"No." She cut him off too quickly for her own liking, that title didn't fit her. She wanted a relationship with someone, in future, she just couldn't find herself attracted to anyone that quickly. She had to know them deeply before she could think about anyone in that way...

"Alright, well..." He trailed off, looking carefully at the target. "Shall I start shooting again?" He asked her, she took a deep breath and nodded.

Sam shot the target, his accuracy far improved when shooting with two hands as she had shown him. After another half an hour they went back to the hotel from the shooting range, they could only afford two double rooms so the Drakes were together while Sully and Caeli shared a room.

"So, how's their shooting coming along?" Sully asked once she was back, she nodded slowly at the person she had come to view as the father she never had. She hoped he felt that she was the daughter he never had as well...

"They're improving, Nate is picking it up quickly but that's probably because he's younger. Sam is listening to me, which is nice for a change, so he actually started hitting the silhouette which was useful." She told him, sitting on her bed.

"So, how long until we know why we're in Spain?" Sullivan asked and Caeli tilted her head.

"We have a few more days... The boys shooting has to be acceptable in four days max. We don't have more time than that." She told him, Sully's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at her statement.

"Why not?"

"Something happens on the night of that fourth day, something we have to be prepared for. Two days and their shooting should be up to scratch, two days will be plenty to prepare for what we need to do, especially since I have the plan ready. If this doesn't work I do have a backup, however, I don't want to have to use that backup plan," She told him, he seemed more confused than before.

"Caeli, what happens in four..." He trailed off as he realised. He would have known about the event before, he must be feeling at least slightly stupid for not picking up the connection earlier. "What do you need from there? It'll be dangerous."

"Sully, if the boys shooting isn't where I want it to be in four days we can discuss this further, whether I go in alone or whether we go to the backup plan. For now, just trust me, please." She told him, he sighed and shook his head.

"Alright, kid. But, let's make it three days, not four. I'd prefer to have a little more time to sort out a new plan if needed." He told her, she thought it was a reasonable rebuttal.

"Three days, they'll be ready or they wait until later to join in on my plan." She stated in agreement, three days should be enough as long as the Drakes keep listening to her and following her instruction.

But Sam was already losing interest in training, so she guessed that she would have to step it up to keep him on track. What was something she could do to make him interested once more? What did he need to improve on?

She smiled as she realised exactly what she could do.

***

"What is it exactly that we're doing here? Going to a park wasn't exactly my idea of a fun thing to do after shooting practice." Sam stated, she smiled at him and looked around.

"I said we'd be doing a fun kind of training, not something fun. I thought you listened to me now." She replied, tapping him on the shoulder playfully.

"I must have stopped listening after 'fun'..." Sam trailed off, she scoffed.

"That sounds about right." She replied, stopping in the middle of the gardens. There were plenty of people out, it was a sunny day at the end of winter, people wanted to believe the cold weather was over... "Perfect." She said when he turned to look back at her.

"What are we doing?" Sam asked.

"Something I have a feeling you'll suck at doing... I'll go first." She told him, looking around the gardens and the area they were standing in. "Rules are simple, don't leave the perimeter of these gardens, this specific area of it, no hiding behind objects, and try to do better than I." She told him.

"You haven't really told me what we're doing."

"An elaborate game of chasey and hide and seek, you need to catch me, if you can find me." She told him, a smile still present on her face.

"But you said no hiding..." He trailed off, she nodded.

"I did, didn't I?" She looked around one more time, before looking into his eyes. "The easiest way to run from an enemy is to walk, to blend with the crowd and disappear. That is what we're practising today, learn from the master." Sam shook his head, it sounded impossible, he turned around to see if there was any way to keep himself hidden.

"How am I supposed to do that?" When he turned to look back at her she was gone. One thing she never did was lie, she never went against her word, if she said there would be no hiding behind objects then she was out in the open.

"Where is she?" He whispered to himself, looking around the gardens for her hair, her face... She would have had to change her appearance or obscure it to hide in plain sight. She would have to swipe some clothing, a hat, a jacket. He walked around, seemingly aimlessly, all he would be able to see of hers would be her eyes and that could be quickly obscured by glasses.

But they were such a strange colour, and no one in the gardens seemed to be wearing sunglasses to steal them. He had to try and look for her eyes, those pale grey... exceptionally unsettling eyes. He continued to work his way around the garden area, occasionally seeing a flash of her grey eyes but never for long enough to catch her, at least until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Either you suck or I'm bloody brilliant, I think we both know it's a bit of both." Caeli's voice reached his ears as he turned around to face the person who touched him. It was her.

"I didn't find you..." Sam trailed off, she smiled.

"Yes, but you took ten minutes of walking around aimlessly and we don't have much time so now it's your turn." She told him, looking around the garden. "Three tips, move with the flow of people, lift clothes to obscure your identity where you can and avoid eye contact in a natural way. I'll give you ten seconds with my eyes closed, after that you're fair game. Remember, no hiding behind things, you have to be in the open, you just have to blend."

She started counting down and closed her eyes, so Sam went into panic and focus mode. He had to begin moving with the people, hopefully facing away from Caeli and get a different jumper to hide his clothes. With five seconds left before she would open her eyes, he grabbed a puffer jacket that someone left lying around and put it on, with two left he grabbed a beanie from a small clothing stand where warm items of clothing were for sale.

He barely made it in time but felt comfortable enough to start walking around, always making sure he was either facing directly away from or looking away from Caeli. He could see her hair now, she had come here with her hair up and simply taken it out to hide herself, but now he knew he could see her perfectly when he needed to.

He didn't know why he felt he had to succeed, he wanted to prove her wrong. He knew that she thought he couldn't do this, but he wanted to, he _needed_ to in order for her to be wrong on the matter. There was also the other side of the coin... he wanted to impress her. She had never shown that much interest in him, but he wanted that to change, he wasn't sure if that was because of his narcissism or whether it was because he felt something for her. That wasn't something he wanted to delve into just yet.

Someone grabbed his shoulder and he turned to see who it was, but he should've known.

"Good effort," Caeli told him, raising an eyebrow as well. "However, I've been on your trail for the past two minutes and you hadn't noticed that you were being followed. I assume you were distracted by something, your focus needs to be on the situation at hand, losing focus can mean losing your life."

"But I was hidden from you for like five minutes right?"

"Close, it was three minutes and thirty-seven seconds, which would normally be enough to get away from a low-level criminal, however for someone like me... it's not. So, we'll try again here, then we'll move somewhere else." She stated with her hands in her pockets.

"Why are you so good at this?" He asked her, she still hadn't told him of her past, even though she knew most of his.

"Well, I don't have a reputation for no reason." She told him, sighing before looking around the garden once more. "Ten seconds, starting now." 


	10. The Auction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which our team attempt to steal from a black market auction and Sam bumps into someone from Caeli's past...

"So, this is the part where everyone finds out what's going on and what we'll be doing tomorrow night," Caeli stated simply, the other three were either sitting in chairs or leaning against something as she leant on the small table she had been using as a desk, her notebook was a mess along with everything else on the table.

"Finally." Sam stated, she shook her head.

"I wasn't sure if you two would be ready but I suppose it will have to do, doing it by myself is going to be too dangerous and you guys are the people I trust the most." She told them, the first part of her sentence directed at the Drake brothers. "So, tomorrow night there is an auction at this wonderful estate of a very wealthy family where we will be procuring an object."

"Sounds like stealing to me..." Sam pointed out, Caeli tilted her head to the side before she spoke again.

"Might be because it is." She told him, looking back at the notebook that was open by her hand. Her plan was written down in dot points, and it all had to go according to this plan or it would be a failure.

"So what are we stealing?" Nate asked, the boy was now fourteen and becoming an integral part of their group.

"You remember that golden statue I stole from the museum a year and a bit ago?" Caeli asked, all three of them nodded in reply. "I noticed that it had a crack running along it, the entire circumference of it's torso. It had been broken in half, I needed to find out why, so I cracked it open along that fracture, I found something interesting." She paused for dramatic effect.

"What would that be?"

"It was hollow." She stated simply, remembering how she felt at the time she fond it was hollow. There had been only one thought in her mind, when taking into account it's lack of an inside and the purposeful crack... "There was something inside of it, and someone got to it. I don't know what it was but it couldn't have been anything too large it was a very small statue, so it got me thinking, what could it have been? Something Incan, something that had to be hidden. I don't think it was an object of importance in itself, I think it was a clue to something bigger. What exactly, I don't know, I just have a gut feeling that it's going to be big, very big. So, I researched and kept an eye out... there's an exact replica of that statue being sold at the auction tomorrow night."

"There was more than one..." Sam trailed off, realising the importance of that fact.

"Yeah, which means that there is definitely something to be found from them." She explained simply.

"Black market auction I assume." Nathan stated.

"Yeah kid, a highly dangerous one. It's known to have a lot of high level criminals... it's the reason they can afford the things that are going to be up for sale. It takes a lot of work and practice to be able to steal from one of these auctions successfully, so I hope your backup plan is a lot safer and easier than this one is." Sully pointed out, Caeli smiled.

"Well, I guess I don't have high hopes for this working out. This is more to see where everyone's at, where we could improve. Besides, practice makes perfect." She stated, looking at the Drakes. "So, the plan, it's fairly simple but doesn't leave room for things to go wrong. I've made two versions, the first is for the statue to be in storage, the auction order is usually fairly set but it can change last minute depending on who pays enough to do so. So, no matter the two plans, we all have the same roles, we will be doing mostly the same things. Main difference is that if it's in storage still, Nathan will be swiping it, he's the smallest and can get through without being seen, if it's at the auction and on display ready to be sold, Samuel will be grabbing it. No matter what, the focus should be on me, I am the illusionist, the one who is watched while the magic happens, and I will be demanding that focus. Sully, you'll be my driver."

***

Sam watched as everyone moved around the large room... there was a display table at the front of the room, and ever since he walked in wearing a suit his eyes had unintentionally flicked between the golden statue at the front of the room and any of the criminals within it's walls. Caeli had not thought this through all the way, there was no way she could think they could get away with this.

His job was to go unnoticed, to avoid conversation and to stay away from criminal overlords, he was easily able to tell which ones they were, even from the lack of bodyguards. That was one rule of this auction, no guards, although people could bring their own weapons for safety. He almost wondered how she had gotten them in, Nate was too young and would be questioned about in terms of his presence which was why he was on the outside, climbing the buildings and getting to the storage room.

Although that wasn't where the statue was.

He had to get to a window from a room that couldn't be seen by others, he had to give Nate the signal that the plan had changed, but so far he hadn't been able to find a way to do so without being noticed. Another thing he'd noticed was rather important; Caeli was late.

A silence overtook the room, and he immediately saw why.

Everyone was looking at the top of the entry staircase, where a young woman had just appeared. She was wearing a floor length, black dress with lace sleeves, her dark brown hair was pulled back in a low, loose bun, strands falling to frame her face... her eyes were lined with dark eyeshadow and liner, making her pale grey irises all the more noticeable. To tie in with the look she was wearing a dark, blood red lipstick. She looked deadly.

Caeli.

Whispers began to fill the room to fill it with something other than the sound of her heels clicking on the marble flooring. She didn't bother to hide the sheath on her hip, a bejewelled dagger sitting in it, the gems catching the light as if to make you completely aware of it, to draw your attention to it.

The first thing he thought was questioning why he had even noticed everything about her in that moment, took in every detail, but he found out by the second thought.

_She looked beautiful._

"What's the Shadow doing here?" Another loner standing next to him asked, it was rhetorical but Sam figured he could use the opportunity to find out more about her.

"Who's the Shadow?" Sam asked, the other man looked surprised at the question, looking straight ahead as he stood directly on Sam's left. He could only see half of the man's face, but from what he could tell the man was only a few years older than he was.

"How new are you in the game to not know who the Shadow is?" The man asked.

"Apparently too new." Sam joked, it made the other man laugh.

"The Shadow, Caeli Porter, is an assassin, thief, mercenary for hire, as long as you pay well. She's been lying low for the past year, rumour is she's training up some orphaned kids with Victor Sullivan." The man said, and although he gave Sam a creepy vibe... he was giving him information.

"What kids?" Sam asked next, the man didn't seem too annoyed by the questions.

"Sully bumped into a kid in Cartagena almost two years ago now, the kid had an older brother that had to be broken out of jail... Caeli wouldn't keep them around if she didn't see potential in them." The man told Sam, who felt both offended and complemented by the statement.

"Where do you get all this information?" Sam asked with a smile, hoping that his questions wouldn't make the man curious. He had a feeling he didn't want this man knowing who he was.

"I have my sources... how long have you been in the game for again? You're younger than me so it can'have been for long." The man asked.

"Never specified."

"Didn't catch your name either."

"Prefer to keep my privacy." Sam responded, he had to find a way out if this situation, idyllically quickly.

"Smart move, kid, don't want the wrong people knowing who you are. Could get you killed in this business." The man stated, but there was something that told Sam that the man knew who he was. "She's a pretty one..." The man trailed off, watching Caeli with an indiscernable look while he spoke. "...but she's a killer. More dangerous than you probably think she is, there's a reason she's called the Shadow, boy. She doesn't just move and hide like one, if you aren't careful, you'll find out how scary she can be. Almost as frightening as shadows moving in the middle of the night when you were a kid, the stuff of nightmares." The man stated simply.

"You've worked with her before..." Sam realised and the man didn't move.

"Hmm, there's a reason she's keeping you around, there's always a reason. Betray her trust and you'll end up with a face like mine." The man said bitterly, turning to look at Sam. On the side of his face that Sam hadn't seen due to being on the man's right, he saw that there was a scar running down the entirety of the man's left side of his face. The scar ran from the hairline to his chin, cutting through his eye which was a milky white.

Had she done this to him?

"I know what you're thinking, and yes she did. Know who you're working with, if you don't then you could end up one eye down." The man growled before walking away, Sam felt his heart beat a million miles an hour as he looked back at Caeli. He was still attracted to her, but now he was cautious... What didn't he know? What could have provoked her to attack that man like that?

She glided through the crowd, most of the eyes in the room were still on her as she made her way around. Seemingly disinterested in the whole auction, she looked briefly at what was for sale before walking inadvertently towards Sam.

"I signalled to Nate about the statue before I came in, saw the running sheet in the hallway it's why I was late in." She whispered, her eyes flickered back to the man with the scar and the blind eye. "And I see you've met Dallas." She added, her tone bitter.

"You made that scar on his face?"

"After he left me in the hands of a rapist-murderer... Not that I have to justify my actions to you, but if it makes you feel better it was a highly justified action to take, and the other guy is dead too, it didn't take long to be rid of him either." She told Sam, who seemed to ease slightly at the information. "I only kill or hurt those who deserve it, otherwise they just get knocked out for long enough for me to pass them to be wherever I need to be."

"At least I know why you're called the Shadow now..." Sam trailed off, a smirk on his face, the playful expression didn't receive well with it's recipient.

"I would gave preferred you found out from anyone else in the room, Dallas is very intelligent and now he knows who you are. After tonight he'll know it was us who stole the statue, and when you're gone and I'm still here he'll know I orchestrated it. He's a dangerous man, a master manipulator, no matter what don't let him find your weaknesses, he will use them against you." She started before going to walk away, Sam grabbed her forearm to stop her momentarily.

"With how you plan to keep the distraction in the form of the plan, I was thinking... Why use your own knife?" Sam asked with a smile on his face. "He hates you, figured you could stir up some shit." He added, handing her the knife he had grabbed from Dallas' pocket. She took it slowly and smiled, it was almost demented in it's form but she made it look chillingly beautiful.

"Perfect. Your brother should have the power off at any moment, I should get into position, so should you. The power room wasn't too far from here." She stated, holding the knife within the folds of her dress to obscure it before walking away, too many eyes were once again focused on her, but that wasn't his problem right then, it was actually what was intended.

"Our first item of the night is this ritual dagger, from the Mayan era, made of silver and embedded with emeralds. Bidding will start at one thousand dollars." The auctioneer stated, his voice calming and commanding at the same time.

"Come on Nate..." He whispered to himself as he stood as close as possible without drawing attention to himself. He would have a short window to grab the statue and go, although that window would be bigger when Caeli would use her distraction, Sully would go to her and help make a big deal of whatever would happen.

The lights just had to go out first.

Budding on the dagger was almost over, Caeli herself had placed some bids on the dagger and was about to win it when the lights went out. He moved quickly, grabbing the statue and walking quickly through the people to exit the room before the lights would come back on.

He had just made it to the door when he heard a girl screaming, but he started running at the sound. It was Caeli's distraction, he had to make use of it.

As he ran, he realised how small the statue was, it was as tall as his fists placed on top of each other, and when the lights came back on again he could inspect it quickly. No cracks like the other one, it hadn't been opened yet.

But, he didn't stop moving until he was back at the car, where Nate was the first to come back. Caeli and Sully were last, hurrying as panic seemed to settle in behind them in the estate.

"Caeli, you okay?" Nate asked first, seeing her holding a bleeding wound on her shoulder.

"Yeah, should have seen Dallas' face when I pulled his bloody knife from my shoulder. Priceless. Now, let's get moving before-" Caeli was cut off by the sound if a gunshot, Caeli and Sully ducked just in time, but the bullet hit something. The statue that Sam had sat on top of the car, shattering it.

"No..." Caeli whispered, her heart seeming to have shattered alongside the now worthless statue. Whatever was inside was broken beyond repair, at least they knew it wasn't paper inside now, it was breakable and it was important. It had to be.

"We have to go." Sully stated the obvious as another gunshot rang through the air and a window on the Chrysler shattered. Caeli nodded, climbing into the back seat before Sam and Nate while Sully got into the driver's seat.

They were soon gone, and they weren't followed.


	11. The Temple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the team find out who they're up against...

Caeli was pacing the room, still unchanged upon returning from the auction. Her anger was the clearest emotion she felt, she was almost seething in it.

"Who shot at us?" She asked, she hadn't been able to get a clear look at who it had been, but whoever it was knew what she was after, there was a reason the statue was shot first. It was to keep it from her.

"None of us saw, Caeli." Sully pointed out, she didn't like that response though.

"Not one of us saw the only person who shot at us? There are four of us and one of them!" Caeli shouted, she wasn't sure why she was so angry about the situation but couldn't stop herself.

"I didn't get a good look... he was wearing a cloak, it had a hood and I couldn't see his face he was too far away." Nathan stated, Caeli froze her pacing and turned to look at him.

"Why didn't you say something before?!" Caeli shouted, throwing her arms up before looking at the boy. He had turned fourteen not too long ago, but he still shied away from Caeli's anger.

"Hey..." Sam warned, standing and moving in between her and his brother.

"Caeli, back off." Sullivan stated calmly, he knew better than to retaliate with anger, it would only make her worse. He knew it was because of how she was raised and that it was something she was attempting to get better at, so far it hadn't worked. Especially since she found the Drake's only slightly infuriating.

She still stopped and took a deep breath, running a hand through her hair which was now out of it's bun. She felt ridiculous to still be in the bloody dress and makeup from the auction but hadn't had enough time to change between checking the perimeter and immediately starting to process what had happened at the auction. All of her enemies and allies knew she was back for business, Dallas had spoken to Samuel which only meant bad things would be coming in future and to top the night off they had been shot at, the one thing they had gone for was rendered useless and they still had no idea who had tried to kill them.

"What kind of cloak?" She asked next, her eyes closed as she took a step away from the Drake brothers, she opened her eyes slowly and avoided the brothers. She felt ashamed of how she had reacted, but at the same time she felt it was almost necessary. Nathan should have spoken up earlier than that.

"Black, it had some kind of marking on it... almost shaped like a 'T', but it looked..."

"I think I understand what you mean, Nathan. It was detailed, had patterns inside of the T that you knew were there but couldn't really discern from far away." Caeli cut the boy off, he nodded in response. "Fuck." She swore, holding her head in her hands. "Hood, the hood was tapered to a point over the head too, wasn't it?"

"Yeah..." Nathan trailed off, she tilted her head back and let go of her head.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit..." She trailed off.

"I told you the auction would be dangerous, kid, we should have gone with your-"

"Sullivan, I'm not in the bloody mood for one of your lectures right now. This whole auction thing was a good idea until Dallas turned up and the Temple followed. The fucking Temple, of all the people to turn up or be sent to that fucking auction it had to be the fucking Temple." She swore, growling the words.

"Why is everyone saying things like we understand what they mean?" Sam asked under his breath, although everyone could hear what he said. "What the hell is 'Temple'?"

"Not Temple, the Temple. They are an association of assassins, they work specifically for religious organisations to eliminate any kind of threats or to get rid of any kind of artefacts that contradict their religion or prove that it's false. Religions are about power over the weak, the Temple make sure it stays that way." Caeli explained, shifting the skirt on her dress so she could sit on the bed.

"A league of assassins?"

"Yes, a league of assassins." She answered Nathan's question, she sighed. "A dangerous league of assassins, these people are the best at what they do, it's the reason that they're hired by Temple in the first place, and once you're there they give you even more training."

"How do you know this?" Sam asked a relevant question, one that she couldn't really answer fully just yet.

"It has to do with my past, but mostly research through some contacts when I ran into them a couple of years ago." She stated, she could see the annoyance on his face but tried her best to ignore it.

"Your past that we still have no idea about? It's starting to get old, Caeli, I would have thought that we could be trusted with it by now." Sam snapped, obviously still angry about her snapping at Nathan, and about her keeping her childhood a secret. The Drakes knew everything after she was abandoned in America, but they didn't know why or anything before that.

It was such a big part of who she was that she still felt closed off to them, but she knew how they acted around her would change, how they thought of her would change. Sure, they had seen her in action but that was different to knowing she was raised to become an occult assassin.

All she could do was ignore his question, the decision made her chest tighten but it was the only thing she could do. It didn't feel right to tell them... not in that moment.

"Alright, well if that's all for tonight we're going to go to bed." Sam stated, putting an arm around his brother's shoulders and beginning to walk to the door.

"Sam..." Caeli trailed off, the teen turned to look back at her, a look in his eyes she couldn't really understand. She sighed, not wanting to apologise but wanting to say something. Anything.

"What?" Sam asked, still annoyed.

"Sleep well." She said, realising how stupid she sounded.

"Yeah, you too." Sam responded bluntly, closing the door harshly before Caeli dropped her head into her hands.

"You have to tell them, kid." Sullivan stated simply.

"I know, I just don't know how to do it without them changing how they think about me." She said in response, she knew that was what she was afraid of, she had the entire time. "They know me for who I am right now, they know who I am not what I'm supposed to be. They haven't tried to use my past against me, they haven't wanted to hire me because of my training. They haven't tried to abuse my past... the same reason I didn't tell you for months is the same as why I haven't told them. I have to protect myself and them, as soon as they know about the Order they'll be at risk."

"They already are, by being around you. They should know why, what they should be looking out for, they need to know the kind of danger that they're in to decide whether sticking around us is the best idea for them."

"Us?" Caeli asked, a lopsided smile on her face.

"You know I'm not leaving you alone, kid." The man smiled in response, she laughed to stop her eyes from watering. "You have to tell them, soon."

"After plan B, I'll work out how to tell them." She stated in a strong tone.

"You're going ahead with plan B then?" Sullivan asked as she stood up, going to grab a change of clothes.

"Well, yes, the auction didn't work and plan B is how we're going to get that statue." She told the man.

"Caeli, the Temple-"

"I know! I know how dangerous they are, Sullivan! They bloody well tried to recruit me! They were both the Order's biggest enemies and allies! They tried to buy me from the Order, when I was seven years old. They saw my potential back then, you know how much they were willing to pay for me?" She asked, the man shook his head.

"I don't know, kid, I have no idea what someone would be willing to pay for an assassin child." Sullivan stated, Caeli closed her eyes.

"I was in the room when they tried to make a sale with Marlowe, they offered five million dollars for me. Five million dollars for a seven year old child. I couldn't even comprehend that amount of money at that time, they wanted me for something, and they still have the same Priest. I will be getting that statue, for two reasons. Whoever hired the Temple is scared of what we're going to find, whatever it is will be enough to topple a religion and I like the sound of that kind of power. Secondly..." She trailed off, knowing that what was going to come out of her mouth was going to sound more selfish than anything she might have ever said before.

"You want to know why they wanted you and were willing to pay that much money for you." He said simply, she nodded in reply. She did want to know, why was she so valuable? Why were they going to pay five million dollars to get her? She had never understood, why the expense for her?

"If we get this statue, there's a chance I could get an audience with the Priest, I'll have an answer to one of the many questions I have about my childhood. Besides, the only other way to know is to go back to the Order and we both know that's a horrible idea." She said a little bitterly, he seemed to know what the dig was about and sighed.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have worked with Mar-"

"You should have listened to me, you're lucky she didn't kill you." Caeli whispered.

"I thought we'd moved on from this, Caeli." Sullivan stated, she shook her head.

"Sully..." She was shaking, dealing with emotions was the most difficult thing she could try to do. "...I don't know why you took that job with Marlowe or why you got involved with her further than that, but you lied to me, that's not even the part I'm still angry about. I'm still pissed off because there was nothing I could do! I didn't know where you were, what you were doing, you said you were in fucking Australia and you weren't. What was I going to do if you got into danger? What if I never heard from you again because Marlowe had you killed? What the fuck am I supposed to do if you die, Sullivan?!" She shouted, her breathing was shaky as tears sat in her eyes. She was scared, she was always scared about their safety. Always.

The man immediately stood up and quickly covered the ground between them as she began to struggle to breathe. She was having a panic attack. He placed his arms around her and made sure to hold her closely.

"Caeli, breathe, just breathe."

"What if I can't... what if you..." She couldn't get out a sentence as she still struggled to get the air into her lungs.

"Caeli, breathe in..." She tried her hardest to do as he said. "Now breathe out..." She did. He told her to breathe a few more times until she was able to breathe normally again, but her worry was still clear. "We're going to be okay, we have each other and the Drakes, we're going to be fine. How about we promise to never lie to each other again, nothing but truth between us, all of us." Sully suggested, she hugged him back momentarily before pulling away.

"Okay, pure honesty starts after plan B."

"Wasn't really meaning you get to choose-"

"No, we need to focus on plan B. You and the Drakes can go to my storage container and get whatever we're going to need to fund this thing, keeping in mind the amount of weapons we're going to need since we're dealing with the Temple. I will go to this house and follow through with my end."

"You aren't doing it by yourself, Caeli, one of us is going with you." Sullivan stated, she went to protest but he cut her off before she could begin. "You just had a panic attack about keeping me safe, I worry about you too kid." He pointed out, she nodded slowly.

"You have to go to the container, you know where it is and I have to do this heist because I'm the only one suited to the target so... which brother do you want?" She asked, not really caring either way.

"Nate is too young to do something like you've planned, you can take Sam. He'll be of some use to you." Sullivan told her, she looked to the ground and nodded in reply. "And as soon as you're done you can tell him about your childhood, everything about the Order." She processed it in her head and looked him in the eyes.

"Okay, you can tell Nate once you've grabbed what we need. I need to make some calls to get this plan in action."


	12. Hansen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Caeli steals a replica golden statue from a drug lord...

Caeli was driving them to where they needed to go, the silence in the car was almost deafening to her. She hated silence when in the company of allies...

He was still angry with her, that much was obvious.

And she was horrible at apologising.

"Sam..." She trailed off, using his first name instead of his last that she had a habit of doing.

"What is it, Caeli?" He asked, sounding tired, probably frustrated with her and how she had been acting. Frustrated with her not trusting them yet.

"I'm sorry, about yelling at your brother." She said quietly, Sam shook his head. "I was worked up about that night, about what had happened and I took it out on him... I shouldn't have done that."

"You're bloody right you shouldn't have, and I'm not the one you should be apologising to about it." Sam stated bluntly, she sighed.

"I know..." She whispered, agreeing with him. "I also wanted to say that... don't think that I haven't told you about my history because I don't trust you, because I do. I do trust you and your brother, it's selfish of me but I don't want you to think of me differently in whatever way it will be. I like the way things are now, but I think you knowing my past will change your respect for me and my knowledge in these kinds of situations."

"How so?" Sam asked, she tilted her head to the side.

"You listen to me, but you still question me in a lot of situations. That will probably change once you know my past even though I should have your full trust and faith without you knowing it. My past defines me, so it's nice to just have two people that don't know about it and have their opinions of me without it. I don't want to lose that." She explained.

"Well, we won't know until you tell me." Sam pointed out the obvious, she shook her head.

"I guess not." She replied, the manor they were driving to coming into view so she pulled over onto the side of the road and handed Sam a walkie-talkie. "Remember, if I need you I'll signal for you. If you come before I signal for you, I will get very angry so keep that in mind."

"Will do, but if I want updates and I don't get any I'm going to try and find you."

"No, you won't. You need to trust me to do this by myself, I will let you know if I need you, okay?" She told him one last time as he got out of the car.

"Fine." He replied, she had a feeling that his agreement was conditional on her giving continuous updates which was unlikely to happen. She usually forgot to give a signal she was safe every ten minutes when she could just give a distress signal instead when she needed. Not that she needed it.

She didn't reply to him as he closed the door instead and she immediately began to drive the rest of the way. There were a lot of cars present at the manor, which was what made her cover so perfect. She parked and ran to the kitchens, straightening out her waitress uniform and pulling her hair back loosely.

"Caeli!" A voice shouted from the other side of the kitchens, she looked up and smiled.

"I tried to get here earlier, but you know me, always fashionably late." She replied, a smirk on her face as she walked up to Michael, someone who owed her a favour, a favour she was cashing in on that day. He ran a catering company, specialising in providing food for private functions... such as parties hosted by criminals. She had once worked as his security in return for a favour.

"Look, I don't care as long as you keep him away from my other girls." Michael stated, looking to his other servers, they were mostly young like Caeli and the man who owned this manor and was hosting this party was a well known predator.

"Don't worry Michael, everything will go as planned, trust me." She told him, he shook his head.

"Alright, but if one of my girls gets hurt-"

"They won't, I'm small, I seem like an easy target and I will act so dumb and naïve you will hardly believe it's me out there." She said with a smile, picking up a tray with champagne flutes filled and going to walk through the doors. "This plan has to work, I don't know what I'm going to do otherwise." Were her parting words, Michael didn't realise how serious she was about them until later that night.

***

The night was dying down, people were slowly beginning to leave which meant Caeli could make the final move and put the rest of the plan into action. First step, get the host's attention. Caeli walked towards a group of men and lined up her target, accidentally bumping into them and spilling the drinks on her tray all over his suit.

Perfect.

"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry sir, I am so sorry, is there anything I can..." She trailed off as she towering man looked down at her, it was the right person. Only known by one name, Hansen. He was a drug kingpin, with a hobby for collecting antiquities and artefacts, while also enjoying preying on teenage girls. Especially ones who seemed weak, small and easy to inflict damage upon.

"You should watch where you're walking." The man told her, and although the tone and words were threatening there was a kind of disgusting curiosity behind his eyes. The look made her skin crawl.

"I'm so sorry, I thought I heard my name so I turned to see who had said it and the next second I was running into you and is there anything I can do to help you? I can grab you some napkins if you would wish?" Caeli asked, eyes wide and afraid, aiming for the 'doe stuck in headlights' look. Judging from his predatory gaze she would say that she had pretty much hit the look perfectly.

"What was your name, darling?" He asked her, she hesitated for a second for added effect.

"Hayley, sir." She answered, the name close enough to her own but vastly different.

"Hayley, I'm going to have to change out of this suit as it's a little wet now, the only thing I will need your help with is choosing a new one. Would you like to come with me, please?" He asked her, she parted her lips ever so slightly in confusion.

"Only if you wish, sir, I will just have to put this down." She stated, putting the platter that had been tightly held in her hands down onto a decorative table before following Hansen away from the group of men who were watching her closely, whispers and laughter filling the group as they walked away. Little did they know what she was going to do once they were up the stairs and away from the view of the crowd.

"Do you know how expensive this suit is, Hayley?" Hansen asked, she shook her head in reply. "This suit probably costs more than what your car does, if you have one." He answered, it took everything in her to stop herself from blowing her cover then and there.

"Oh..." was the only response she was able to muster that could keep her cover. Never mind the fact that she had millions of dollars to her name and a Porsche in storage, this was more important. Getting this statue was more important than putting this man in his place.

At least for now.

"Where are the suits?" Caeli asked as they reached what she assumed to be his bedroom, he was being given one last chance in this moment, even if he didn't know it.

"Don't worry about that right now, Hayley, why don't you help me take this one off?" He told her. _Alright, that's it._

"Excuse me?" She asked, turning towards him with her wide eyed look gone, she was focused and she wasn't playing around anymore.

"Help me take this off, or the rest of your life is going to be a living hell." He responded while facing away from her, it sent a coursing anger through her veins, but she figured it would be best to comply. She had a plan after all.

"Okay..." She whispered while pulling one of her daggers out of the sheath under her loose-fitting shirt, her hand reached to grab his jacket and begin to slip it off. Once he turned around again he would see the weapon and would probably laugh before she would reveal who she was, threaten his life in order to get the statue and then slip out. She hadn't decided whether to kill him yet or not.

Just as he was about to turn around the security sirens started blaring through the manor, that caught his attention. She had a guess as to why they would be doing so, but she hoped to God that Sam hadn't tried coming in, especially in a way that she had explicitly told him not too, but something didn't sit right with her. Her gut was never wrong, and it was telling her that Sam was the reason behind the sirens.

Hansen turned around to are her with her dagger and laughed. He _laughed_ at her.

"I wouldn't laugh if I were you, you don't know who I am yet." She stated, spinning the dagger around her finger while staring directly into his eyes.

"And who might you be, tiny one?" He asked, belittling her even more.

"My real name is Caeli, although you might remember my alias instead. The Shadow..." She trailed off, he didn't seem too threatened by her, even after the big reveal. It didn't worry her, men were always demeaning even with her reputation.

"The Shadow? You're nothing but a scared, small girl with a knife she probably doesn't even know how to use properly." Hansen responded, she rolled her eyes. "But, I shall play along with your little game as I am interested to see where it goes. Why might you be here?"

"I came for one of the artefacts you own, and I'm going to get it or you're going to die." She told him bluntly, but he didn't seem to believe her.

"My guards will be coming for me soon, so you may want to hurry this up." He told her next, she laughed.

"Your guards won't last ten minutes against me, I don't have stories about me for no reason."

"Stories in this line of work are usually much exaggerated and unrealistic. Especially when it comes to reputation and assassinry." Hansen told her, she shook her head in response.

"Not with me, whatever you've heard is true which is what makes it interesting." She stated simply, taking the ring dagger off of her finger and instead moving to hold the tip of the blade which she flicked towards him, it landed in his chest on the right side of his body. It wasn't fatal... Yet. He laughed once more and went to pull it out.

"You missed my heart-"

"I wouldn't pull that out if I were you, it's in your lung, you might start to feel it now. That dagger is the only thing stopping your lung from collapsing and you dying." She said, pulling her other dagger out ready for action. "Get me the golden, Incan statue and I-"

She was cut off by the bedroom door being kicked in, with none other than Samuel Drake behind it.

_Keep calm._

"What the fuck are you doing?" She asked him.

"You have to give me updates or I'm going to assume-"

"Samuel, I am in the middle of something here, if you don't mind." She pointed towards Hansen who was holding the dagger in his chest, blood was staining his champagne covered shirt and he was slowly finding it hard to breathe. Exactly what she wanted, except for Samuel's presence.

"The one thing I asked for was updates and I-"

"I really don't bloody care right now, you should have waited until I gave you a distress signal. Did I give one?"

"Well, no but-"

"But nothing, just... Just don't fuck this up anymore, please. I assume the sirens are because of-"

"Broke a window, bloody thing wouldn't open, and then it tripped an alarm and-"

"I told you that if you ever had to come in to use the front fucking door since it was open and no one would notice you. For fucks sake you couldn't even do that, now we don't have much time left to get this fucking statue." She said before turning to look back at Hansen, who looked confused at the situation. "Statue, now, or I'll throw this next knife somewhere you really don't want it." To further her point she looked between his legs before he started moving, holding the dagger in like it was a lifeline.

"Why do you want a statue?"

"That really doesn't concern you, now move faster." Caeli talked to the kingpin who did as she said and lead them to a room filled with glass cabinets and artefacts galore. This was what she wanted in her own home, if she ever bothered to buy a house in the first place.

"There it is." She whispered, spotting the statue in one of the cabinets before walking up to it and looking at the lock. "Key." She instructed simply, but the king in was trying to stall.

"I don't have it on me." Hansen stated, she shook her head.

"Inside jacket pocket, left hand side, are your keys. This room would use one master key for all of the cabinets, that key would be in there with the others. Now, give them to me, tell me which one, and I might let you live." The man seemed shocked that she knew where his keys were, but bumping into him hadn't been to just gain his attention, it was so she knew what he was carrying on his person.

Two minutes later and the cabinet was unlocked, the statue in her hands and voices coming down the hallway.

"My guards are here..." Hansen whispered, but in the quiet room it was heard by the other two.

"I believe that's our cue to leave." Sam stated, she nodded, putting the statue into the backpack that was strapped to his person and zipping it closed.

"Window, climb down, run like all hell." She stated simply, turning to look back at Hansen. "You are a disgusting piece of shit taking advantage of young women and threatening their safety in order to feel yourself superior." She stated, walking over to him. "You should die... All of the women you've hurt, abused, raped, it ends now." She told him, he laughed, although the sound was weak. She walked over to him and gripped onto the dagger in his chest.

He moved to attack her but he moved too slow, her second dagger was already in his throat before he could grab her. She ripped both of her daggers out at the same time, losing his ability to breath while he began to bleed out. He collapsed after a few seconds, a pool of blood growing around him as he tried to breathe.

"See you in hell, Hansen." She stated, hoping they would be the last words he would ever hear.

"Caeli, we have to go." Sam stated, she looked up and saw torchlight coming down the hallway and turned to run towards the window.

They climbed down the manor easily, and it was in that moment she was thankful for the fact that the manor was surrounded by trees. They snuck back around to the front and got into the car, starting the car and driving away slowly without lights.

Although it seemed the true danger laid in the car ride back to the motel, not where they had just escaped from.


	13. The Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Caeli tells Sam of her childhood...

She was so angry she was shaking, she didn't know what to say. He had one thing to do, and that was wait for her to give the distress signal, if that didn't happen he just had to be patient and wait for her to come back. Why couldn't he do that?

"What's wrong?" He asked, she shook her head.

"I thought I already expressed that clearly." She replied, her grip on the steering wheel tightening until her knuckles began to lose colour.

"You're angry because I came to help you?" He asked her, she sighed.

"I didn't need your help." She responded far too quietly and calmly for the anger she felt.

"You were going up against a man twice your size with a history for attacking women, I thought you might need help, and when you didn't give me updates I assumed you were in trouble." He told her, seeming angry about the situation as well. He didn't understand, after a year of working with her he still thought she was incapable of holding her own against men, against people bigger and stronger than she was... this was why she didn't want to tell him about her past. After he knows then he'll know she can handle herself, even though he already should.

"I didn't need your help." She repeated, hoping he would rethink and see that what she said was true.

"From my position I think you did." He stated simply, at that she slammed her foot on the brakes and pulled over onto the side of the road. She turned to look him directly in the eyes after putting the handbrake on, conveying her anger through the interaction.

"I didn't need your help." She repeated once more, her voice still calm. She had to keep calm, if she got too angry then he would see her as emotional, as a stereotypical girl who was unable to take care of herself and was led by her heart. That couldn't be further from the truth.

"I-"

"I really don't give a damn what you think or what you thought, the simple fact is that I did not need help. I would have thought that our year together would have proven that I am more than capable of taking care of myself in situations similar to the one we just experienced." She stated, still keeping rather calm. She was focused on her breathing, keeping it slow and steady so as to keep her heartrate down.

"It's not that, I know you can take care of yourself but this situation was different-"

"Because I was by myself and because I'm a girl." She didn't ask, she stated it simply and without room for him to deny it.

"Well..." He trailed off, she shook her head.

"I honestly, cannot believe you sometimes." She whispered, her hands still gripping the steering wheel with her knuckles turning white.

"What was I supposed to do? Leave you in there by yourself?" He asked her, far too defensive about his actions.

"Yes!" She shouted, he seemed taken aback by her tone and the pure anger that came from the single word. "You should have trusted my skill! Should have trusted me to do this myself! How many times have I sent you to do something like this by yourself and trusted you to do it?" She calmed herself down for the question, keeping her eyes on him which forced him to do the same with her.

"A few..."

"And when have I barged in, potentially ruining the outcome of your task?" She asked next, he seemed to realise his error then.

"Never." He answered.

"I don't know why the hell you think that me doing one of these jobs is any different from you doing it, because I know that if anything I should be the one barging in on you, not the other way around." She stated, realising that she was gong to tell him her history then, in that car, parked on the side of a barely used road.

"Why the hell would that be?" He asked her, she sighed and finally let go of the steering wheel.

"I was raised to be an assassin, Samuel." She whispered, hoping that it wouldn't change much but felt that it would have an effect on everything.

"What?" He asked her, her breath was shaking.

"I was raised to be an assassin inside of an organisation called the Order, my parents were agents of the Order and when I was born I was shaped from birth to be a living weapon. When I turned eleven my parents brought me to America and abandoned me in hopes I would be safe, for a year I was by myself travelling the country and stealing artefacts and jewellery to sell to survive. I met Sully in Canada, saved his ass and we've been working together ever since." She explained, in short, what her life had been like.

"You don't expect me to believe that, do you?" Sam asked, she shook her head.

"The Order is run by Katherine Marlowe, she's been wanting to get me back ever since I was left in America." She explained, a flash of recognition ran through his eyes.

"Cartagena..."

"Yes, Sullivan is lucky I didn't kill him for that stunt. He could have ruined everything." She stated, looking to her hands momentarily before looking back to him. "Last year, when we were kidnapped by the people that Sully owed money to, the real reason they took us was to sell me back to the Order. For whatever reason, I am extremely important to them and extremely valuable to others as well. I don't know why, but a part of this whole hunt... it's to maybe answer that question as well."

"How could this statue answer any questions you have? That doesn't make sense..."

"The Temple tried to buy me from the Order when I was young, for five million dollars." She knew that seemed to be the most far-fetched part of the whole story, but she also knew that he knew she didn't lie. Not to her allies at least. Not to him.

"Shit." Was all he could manage in response to her story.

"That's the reason I get angry when you don't do as I say, when I make a plan and you go against it. I know what I'm doing because I was raised to do this, and I didn't want to earn your confidence by telling you my past, I wanted to earn it by proving myself to you but apparently it wasn't enough. So, now you know my past, just as you've wanted to for a year, and if that doesn't make you listen to me I don't think anything will."

She put her hands back on the wheel and pulled back onto the road, the rest of the car ride was silent. She didn't need to reprimand him for almost ruining their chances at stealing this statue, he seemed to understand the weight of his mistake.

"When are we going to open the statue?" He asked her next.

"When we meet up with the other two." Caeli answered bluntly, her eyes focused on the road.

"When might that be?" He asked next, she shrugged her shoulders.

"We're going to them back in America so a couple of days at most." She stated, silence followed for a few moments.

"Why did you finally tell me? About your childhood? Why now?" Sam asked, the change of topic almost giving her whiplash.

"Sully pointed out that it was due for you two to know, so that you can think about it and make a decision from there."

"A decision on what exactly?" He asked her next, she could hardly believe the question.

"Whether you stay and continue to work with us or whether you leave." She guessed he was confused by the answer due to his lack of response, so she expanded further. "The Order are dangerous, and once they know you're working with us you and your brother will become a target. You're already in danger by just being around me, but if you stay that danger will only increase. You and Nate need to decide if sticking around me is the best idea, I know Sully isn't going anywhere but you two still have a choice on whether you stay or not."

"If we're already on danger then why would we go?"

"Because, the Order probably don't know about you yet. Their contacts outside of the UK are fairly slow, which is why I only operate out of the country." Caeli answered, shuffling in the driver's seat.

"You never go home?" That seemed to be the only piece of information that Sam pulled from her response.

"I don't have a home." She told him, that answer seemed sadder than not going back to her birth country. She didn't have a home, not a single place to call her own and that felt safe. The closest thing she had was her storage container... But that was for storage and not to live in.

"I guess I can relate to you on that one." Sam responded, and he was right. Neither of them had a home, not anymore.

"You at least have your brother, home is where the heart is or whatever kind of bullshit that means." Caeli responded.

"It means that home isn't a place, it's the people you're comfortable around. The ones that make you feel safe, that you love and they love you back." Sam explained, she took the concept into consideration.

"A family, that's what I'm hearing." She summarised it, he nodded.

"Yeah, a family. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love Nate but..."

"But what?" She was confused, he had a brother, his own, albeit small, family. That was more than she ever had.

"I feel like we're missing something, missing a lot actually. I mean, no parents, no extended family... we're alone. There's no one else, I know it's selfish but I want more people in my family, _our_ family. There's no home for us anymore, there hasn't been for a while, and I almost resent Nate for the fact he doesn't remember the home that we did have before the orphanage. I wish I didn't have to see my mother and father when I go to sleep, how happy we were and how quickly it all fell apart. Seeing Mum slowly get sicker and sicker before she died... I remember all of it, and Nate doesn't and it just makes it all feel that much worse. He's the only family I've got left and I..."

"You still feel alone." Caeli finished off what he was trying to say, he didn't respond because they both knew she was right. He did feel alone. "Well, if you stay with me and Sully you won't be, but if you do want to go we'll always be there if you need us. I don't want to see you and Nate getting hurt." She told him, a sense of relief seemed to wash over him.

"That's good to know..." he replied, another question seeming to come to mind. "Why did you keep us around? You knew we might leave but you still trained us and showed us how this world actually works... why?"

"Because, I couldn't in my right mind let you two go without some training. You'd be easy targets and I didn't want to hear about two brother's dying after you leave." She answered honestly, almost shocking herself when she did so.

"After we leave? You're sure that we're going, aren't you?" He asked her, it forced a sigh to leave her body. Leaving was the smart thing to do, so of course she thought they would.

"Yes, I know I would. If you don't you might die because of me, I don't want that to happen either. I want the people close to me to be safe, it just happens that the best way to do that is to keep them away from me." She told him, he was silent for a few seconds.

"On the flip side there is safety in numbers and if you were raised to be an assassin then I don't think leaving would be a good idea. Besides, Nate likes Sully and I don't think we'll be able to hunt anything half as interesting as this by ourselves." She didn't want to get her hopes up at Sam's statement. She didn't want the Drakes to leave, she knew that much. She didn't know why, she just knew that she didn't want to watch them walk away. So, she would have to try her best to convince them to stay, and so her response focused on the last point that Sam had made.

"I can almost guarantee that you wouldn't."


End file.
